Petunias" -- Georgia O'Keefe Georgia Term Paper

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In Petunias, for instance, it is the vivid coloration and blending that is so characteristic of Mother Nature and yet so devilishly difficult to accomplish in the visual arts. In fact, in order to really study the colorations of the blues, purples, lavendars, and blacks that appear in Petunias, O'Keefe actually grew a bed of purple Petunias in the garden. She was so intent on the accuracy of her depiction that she wrote, "Color is one of the great things in the world that makes life worth living to me, and as I have come to think of painting, it is my effort to create an equivalent with paint color for the world -- life as I see it: (Benke).

Matrix Analysis of Petunias-

Issue

Analysis

Significance

Color

Deep vivid-bluish purples fading towards lavander on one hand, black on the other. Very slight hints of green in tiny impressions of pistals and a leaf.

Like a true artist, even though we know the color was "studied" and analyzed, the appearance of the final product seems effortless and quite natural.

Tone

Warm, rich, jewel

Communicates late spring, warm days of early summer.

Timbre

Active without being raucous

Most of the flowers are facing towards the audience's eye.

Brush Strikes

Central hub of flower outword; background almost seems daubed

Larger and more vibrant on the petals.

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Lighting

Daylight, perhaps mid-morning or lae afternoon -- sun does not appear to be at its zenith

Most likely an earlier morning or later afternoon. We do not ge a glare of noontime, nor the artifical light so favored after "dark"

Realism

Very realistic, petunias are shown in various stages of bud, partially opened and fully opened.

Interesting to note that O'Keefe focuses only on the process forward with this study; there are no dying leaves, etc.

Emotional Construct

Peaceful and enveloping; color and placement draw the audience in; calm without being sleepy.

Meditative, definitely feminine. Expresses optimism for the future; sadly almost knowing it will only be around our table for a bit -- clearly an act of continue reinvention.

Thus, for pure expression of simplicity combined with talented interpretation, Petunias is a true masterpiece. One does not need to "work" at understanding her art; certalinly all the elementy may be deconstructed, but in O'Keefe's Petunias, all the right elements come together in all the right ways.

REFERENCES:

Benke, B. Georgia O'Keefe, 1887-1986: Flowers in the Desert. Cologne: Taschen, 2003.

Drohojowska-Philp, H. Full Bloom: The Life and Art of Georgia O'Keefe. New York: WW Norton, 2004.

Messinger, L. Georgia O'Keefe. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2001.….....

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